During a meeting with the Egyptian Lebanese Businessmen Friendship Association members, Hossam Heiba, the CEO of Egypt’s General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI), announced a 10% increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in FY2022/23 compared to the previous year.
He added that Egypt is the leading country in Africa and second in the Middle East, following the UAE, in terms of the value of incoming FDI during the same period. In FY2021/22, Egypt attracted $8.9 billion in FDI with a 71.4% increase compared to the previous year, as stated by the Egyptian Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAMPAS).
Heiba also mentioned that Egypt is a sought-after market for investors in North Africa and serves as a regional center for supply chains to African markets. In the last six months, GAFI allocated approximately 4.5 million square meters of land as industrial zones for several countries that expressed interest in investing in Egypt.
GAFI aims to reduce the time required for releasing goods from ports to just 14 days instead of 147 days. This move is expected to help provide essential commodities and reduce skyrocketing prices. The government is continuing its efforts to attract more foreign investments by introducing stimulating measures to simplify the establishment procedures for companies.
In 2022, Egypt ranked first in North Africa for FDI inflows, receiving $11.4 billion, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Additionally, a report by American global management consulting firm Kearney placed Egypt in the 14th position among the world’s top attractive and trusted emerging markets for foreign investment in May.
